Padres Can’t Make Room For Dean Anna, Deal Him To Yankees

The Padres and Yankees both faced a 40-man roster crunch Wednesday, and the Padres decided not to keep middle infielder Dean Anna. The Yankees, seeking depth on the left side of the infield, acquired Anna from San Diego for righthander Ben Paullus and immediately added him to the 40-man roster.

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Dean Anna, 2b/ss

Age: 26.

Career Transactions: Selected by Padres in 26th round of 2008 draft; signed June 15, 2008.

Anna, drafted out of Ball State, is coming off his best pro season, winning the Pacific Coast League batting title while playing for Triple-A Tucson. He hit .331/.410/.482 and walked (61) almost as much as he struck out (65), a career-long trend. Anna lacks physicality and pop at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds and fits the utility profile as a lefthanded hitter. He’s played second base, shortstop and third base as well as the outfield corners, with a fringe-average arm and solid infield actions. He’s a reliable defender who made just 23 errors the last two seasons. He’s a below-average runner, the biggest hole in his utility profile. Anna has earned high marks in his career as a grinder and good teammate. He spent two weeks playing for Estrellas in the Dominican League but returned home after going 8-for-34 (.235) with four walks in nine games.

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Ben Paullus, rhp

Age: 24.

Career Transactions: Selected by Yankees in 19th round of 2011 draft; signed June 13, 2011.

Paullus was the key reliever for Memphis during his college career and was in a similar role in 2013 for low Class A Charleston, which was his second South Atlantic League stint. He had a poor 3-2, 6.65 season in 2012 but improved to 6-3, 2.54 with 60 strikeouts in 60 innings. He earned a promotion to high Class A Tampa, which didn’t go well. He gave up 15 hits and seven runs in 11 innings. Paullus has a slinging, max-effort delivery, and his best pitch is a power 12-to-6 curveball that reaches the low 80s at his best. His fastball generally sits in the average 88-92 mph range but has touched 95. He improved in 2013 by adding a cutter that helped him throw more strikes and combat lefthanders.